New Qatari Agreements Bring GE's Site Commitments to $1B

Expanding its role with one of the world’s largest suppliers of liquefied natural gas (LNG), GE Energy has signed a multi-million, multi-year service agreement with RasGas Company Limited, covering two LNG trains and Al-Khaleej Gas (AKG) Plant-2 at RasGas’ LNG and gas production complex in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar. The project supports Qatar’s strategy to become the world’s leading supplier of LNG.

An LNG train is a chain of equipment, including a gas turbine, which is used to convert natural gas to liquid form. This process reduces the volume of the gas, making it easier to ship large quantities of LNG to help meet growing energy demands in locations around the world.

The new contractual service agreement (CSA) covers LNG trains 6 and 7 and AKG Plant-2 at the site and follows similar agreements previously signed for RasGas LNG trains 1-5 and AKG Plant-1, bringing GE’s total services commitment at the site to more than $1 billion.

"Our contractual service agreements can help improve the reliability of LNG and gas production and help minimize equipment downtime at the RasGas complex, which is a major contributor to the continuing economic growth of Qatar," said Joseph Anis, GE Energy’s region executive for the Middle East. "Trains 6 and 7 will increase capacity at the site, helping RasGas meet the global demand for LNG.” He added that the new agreements “underscore our commitment to provide long-term support for our key customers, such as RasGas, throughout the Middle East, one of the largest growth areas for GE in the world today."

Over the next few years, Ras Gas plans to begin supplying LNG to a range of new customers around the world, possibly including the United States, following the startup of train 6, and Asia following the startup of train 7.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Hamad Rashid Al-Mohannadi, RasGas managing director (CEO) said, "The latest service agreement builds upon the strong relationship that we have forged with GE Energy over the years. It is critical for us to have access to proven technology and world-class services that are customized for our specific needs, allowing us to maintain the reliability of our LNG and gas production. This agreement also will support us in continuing to provide our clients around the world with clean, efficient energy."

Engineering and construction work for trains 6-7 began in 2005. Train 6 is scheduled to come on line in 2008 and train 7 in 2009.

The new CSAs will cover six GE Frame 9E gas turbines and seven GE Frame 6B gas turbines to be used for compression and power generation service on trains 6 and 7 and AKG-2 Plant. In total, the GE CSAs for trains 1-7 and AKG 1 and 2 cover 35 gas turbines at the site for a period of 24 years.

GE Energy’s CSAs are designed to help improve the reliability and availability of gas turbines for the length of the agreement. GE also is able to offer performance guarantees that provide an incentive for increasing the time between outages, which could result in greater productivity for an extended period of time.